By Jim Kayes
David Pocock is being painted as a boogey man lurking under the All Blacks bed, set to terrorise them in Sunday's (NZT) World Cup final before whipping the trophy out from under their noses. He'll be pinching it from the All Blacks side of the ruck, if you will.
The Wallabies openside-turned-No.8 is a fine player and has been in superb form this year. His potential influence at Twickenham will be noted and discussed by the All Blacks, but no more so than what Scott Sio has done to their much improved scrum, how Michael Hooper can be a dangerous runner from broken play, the re-emergence of Will Genia as a classy halfback, Bernard Foley's form at first five, the evergreen Matt Giteau outside him and the twin threats of Drew Mitchell and Adam Ashley-Cooper on the wings.
The All Blacks know if they focus too heavily on one player, whoever that player is, then they leave room for others to shine. They also know that if they do their jobs properly at the breakdown, Pocock's potential pilfering will be limited.
The key here is speed to break down, sufficient numbers, and accuracy in the clean out. That is all down to the All Blacks who were poor in Sydney when Pocock pounced and put shivers down the spines of many All Blacks fans, who still see him as a one-man World Cup dream killer.
Turnovers will happen at Twickenham because both sides like to use the ball and play expansively. When that happens, numbers are stretched and counter-attacks are launched. It's why you'll see Ma'a Nonu and Ben Smith pinching ball from tackled players, as will Ashley-Cooper and Giteau.
The ruck is no longer the sole province of the forwards and the match-winning try on Sunday could just as easily come from a Nonu inspired turnover as it might be a Pocock pocket pinch.
Wallaby great John Eales believes they have an edge over the All Blacks loose trio and that will be the winning of the game. All Blacks great Justin Marshall thinks the benches will decide the winner. I reckon Marshall is right, and I think the All Blacks will have an edge there.
Look at how the bench has lifted them throughout the tournament and the impact they get from the likes of Sonny Bill Williams, Sam Cane and Victor Vito. How about props Joe Moody and Charlie Faumuina who came on against France and set up tries? Or halfback Tawera Kerr Barlow who scored twice from the bench in Cardiff. And look at how the introduction of these new players didn't disrupt the All Blacks calm composure in that tense final quarter against South Africa.
And then have a look at how rattled the Wallabies were in the final 20 minutes against Scotland, and how tired and bedraggled they looked in that same stanza against Argentina.
Pocock is a mighty player, but if the Wallabies are to beat the All Blacks, they will need to keep pace with the fittest, fastest and most skilful team in World Rugby for 80 minutes - not 60, 70 or even 75. That is their challenge. It's a prospect more worrying for them than Pocock pinching the odd ball at the break down.
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